Galapagos Species Database
The Galapagos Species Database shares the information about the species from our Natural History Collections.
Nicoletia meinerti
eyeless
An eyeless white inhabitant of soil and litter in the arid and littoral zones. (Paclt, 1976) states this to be a modern introduction. Taken in the crevice cave called Grieta Iguana (at CDRS) on Isla Santa Cruz, and rotten logs in a coffee plantation (380 m) at Santo Thomas on Isabela. Some populations may be facultatively parthenogenic, which will facilitate dispersal; March, December
Domain
Eukaryota
Kingdom
Animalia
Phylum
Arthropoda
Class
Insecta
Order
Zygentoma
Family
Nicoletiidae
Genus
Nicoletia
Species
meinerti
Taxon category: Accepted
Origin: Introduced - established
Year of first record: 1964
Mode of introduction: Accidental
Introduction Pathway: Contaminant
Subpathway: On habitat material (soil, vegetation)
Introduced status: Naturalized
Invasive status: Unlikely to become invasive
Map of specimen collection localities or observation records for this species in our collections database.
Distribution: Isabela, Santa Cruz
- Peck, S.B. (2001) Smaller Orders of Insects of the Galápagos Islands, Ecuador: Evolution, Ecology, and Diversity. NRC Research Press, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, 278 pp.
- Peck, S.B. Heraty, J., Landry, B. & Sinclair, B.J. (1998) Introduced insect fauna of an oceanic archipelago: The Galápagos Islands, Ecuador. Am. Entomol. 44: 218-237.
- Paclt, J. (1976) Diploures et Thysanoures recoltés dans les îles Galápagos et en Ecuador par N. et J. Leleup. Mission zoologique belge aux îles Galápagos et en Ecuador (N. et J. Leleup, 1964-65) 3: 115-134.
- Peck, S.B. (1990) Eyeless arthropods of the Galapagos Islands, Ecuador: Composition and origin of the cryptozoic fauna of a young, tropical, oceanic archipelago. Biotropica 22(4): 366-381.
- Peck, S.B. Peck, J. (1986) The Galapagos Islands. Volcanic caves and cave fauna of the Galapagos Islands. The Canadian Caver 18(1): 42-49.
- Causton, C.E. Peck, S. B., Sinclair, B. J., Roque-Albelo, L., Hodgson, C. J. & B. Landry. (2006) Alien insects: threats and implications for the conservation of the Galapagos Islands. Annals of the Entomological Society of America, 99(1), 121-143.
You are welcome to download and use the information found in this page, acknowledging its source.
This page should be cited as follows:
"Galapagos Species Database, Nicoletia meinerti", dataZone. Charles Darwin Foundation, https://datazone.darwinfoundation.org/en/checklist/?species=10247. Accessed 22 June 2025.